Dad may never walk again after breaking his neck when he dived into a pool during stag do
Agony of engineer Matthew Walters, 33, who was sober when he misjudged the depth of water and struck his head
A DAD-OF-TWO may never walk again after he broke his neck while jumping into a swimming pool on a pal’s stag do.
Matthew Walters, 33, suffered the horror injury at a hotel in Benidorm, Spain on the first full day of his getaway.
Now, after returning to the UK following a “nightmare” experience, Matthew has been told he faces up to a year of rehabilitation in a specialist unit.
Matthew, of Meir Park, Staffs. told how after spending a day at the beach he dived into the 1.2m-deep pool to cool off when he got back to the hotel.
Speaking from his hospital bed, he told The Stoke Sentinel: “My friend, who is tall, was in the pool and the water was above his chest, so I never thought it wasn't deep enough. I was perfectly sober. I just dived in and took a knock to the head and I floated to the top.
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“My head was telling me to get out of the water, but I couldn't do anything with my limbs. I went unconscious and when I woke up I was out of the pool.
“My mates thought I was pranking at first, but when they realised they pulled me out, put me in the recovery position and I came round. I knew how serious it was because I couldn't feel anything."
Matthew, a plumbing and heating engineer, was taken to the local hospital following the accident on July 9 before being moved to Alicante.
Nicola, aged 30, was away in Wales with the couple's sons Ben, aged 11, and seven-year-old Callum when she got the news.
The nursery nurse said: “When I was told he had broken his neck my whole world fell apart. It was absolutely devastating.
"I flew out there at 6am the following day.
“I was told he would need an operation but the risks were massive, and he could be left paralysed from the neck down."
Matthew had fractured one of the vertebrae in his neck and dislocated another. On July 12 he had surgery to fuse them together.
The couple said their experience in the Spanish hospital was 'horrific'.
Matthew said: “The care was awful, I felt like I was just a number to them. I felt scared and alone."
Eventually they got a doctor's note to say Matthew was fit to fly and he came home on Thursday, in a wheelchair on a regular commercial flight.
He went straight to the Royal Stoke University Hospital where he was told he should have had six weeks flat bed rest following his injury – Spanish medics had been sitting him up in a chair – and that he may have damaged his spinal cord on the return journey.
Only time will tell if I walk again. I feel devastated
Matthew Walters
This week he is being transferred to the Midland Centre for Spinal Injuries in Oswestry, where he will stay for the foreseeable future.
He said: “I have got feeling back but it is not proper feeling. I feel like I have been stung by a wasp all over.
"Only time will tell if I'm going to get a complete recovery with proper sensation, and whether I will walk again.
“I feel devastated, but I'm happy to be back with my family and I've got to stay positive.
"The support we have had from family and friends has been overwhelming and my boss has been amazing, and we want to thank everyone."
Matthew was in Benidorm with 13 friends to celebrate groom Ben Forrester's impending marriage on August 13.
Ben from Blythe Bridge, works with Matthew at Staffordshire Plumbing and Heating and has known him for 10 years.
“I'm absolutely gutted, seeing your friend like that is hard," said the 26-year-old.
“We are like brothers not friends, and he would do anything for anyone.
"I'm gutted he won't be able to come to the wedding, I want him there more than anything."
Now Ben and other friends are planning to do some fund-raising to help the couple while Matthew recovers.
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